The Forbidden Forest, also known as Dark Forest[1][2] borders the edges of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry grounds. As its name suggests, it is strictly off limits to students - except in the case of detention, or Care of Magical Creatures lessons that occasionally take place there. Of course, with the various dangerous creatures living in the Forest, few students would even want to venture into it. Black Iris flowers are known to grow in the forest.[3]

It is also rumoured that many other types of creatures reside there including werewolves, trolls, and a few giants, though of the last, Grawp is the only known example. (However, Argus Filch has said that werewolves do live in the Forest, and a Troll Bridge is known to be in it, furthermore Forest Trolls have also been seen in the Forest)

As part of their punishment for being caught out of bed at night, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom were assigned to help the gamekeeperRubeus Hagrid find and rescue a badly-injured unicorn in the Forbidden Forest. They split into two parties, and Harry and Draco found the unicorn dead, surrounded by its own blood. A hooded figure crawled to the corpse and drank the blood, while Draco fled, screaming. The hooded figure moved towards Harry, who was knocked out by an agonising pain spreading from his scar. When Harry regained consciousness, the hooded figure had gone and a centaur, Firenze, offered to give him a ride back to the school. Firenze told him that the hooded figure was actually Lord Voldemort, who had been trying to regain strength by drinking the unicorn's blood. [6]

1992-1993

Following the re-opening of the Chamber of Secrets, Harry and Ron went to visit Hagrid and ask him about his possible involvement in the last opening, 50 years previous. However, before they could receive any information, Hagrid was taken away by Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Fudge. Before leaving his hut, he said that if anyone wanted to know anything they just had to "follow the spiders." Harry and Ron, who had been hiding under the invisibility cloak, decided to follow the spiders, per Hagrid's advice, which were streaming en masse towards the Forest. The spiders eventually led them to the Forest's acromantula colony, headed by Aragog, the "monster" Hagrid had been accused of setting on other students 50 years ago. Aragog explained that Hagrid is innocent, but rather than letting Harry and Ron go, he decided to leave them as dinner for his children. Mr. Weasley's Ford Anglia came blasting through the layers of spiders, however, and rescued the boys. Remembering that Aragog had said that Salazar Slytherin's real monster had killed its last victim in a bathroom, it occurred to Harry that Moaning Myrtle might have been that victim. [5]

1993-1994

Hermione and Harry hiding Buckbeak in the Forbidden Forest.

After being in the Shrieking Shack for several hours, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Snape and Ron's rat Scabbers, who had recently been discovered to be Peter Pettigrew, left the secret passage in the Whomping Willow. Unfortunately, Lupin had forgotten to take his Wolfsbane Potion, and the full moon caused him to turn into an uncontrollable Werewolf; when Sirius Black changed to his Animagus dog form to protect the others, Pettigrew took the opportunity to turn back into Scabbers and escape. After injuring Black, Lupin fled to the Forbidden Forest.

1994-1995

The forest in 1994

Near the end of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry and the other champions were informed that the third task would be a maze, filled with magical obstacles. Victor Krum asked to speak to Harry alone (about his relationship with Hermione Granger), but as they moved away from the Quidditch pitch, a barely coherent Barty Crouch Sr. emerged from the forest, asking for Dumbledore. Harry left to retrieve Dumbledore, but upon his return, found that Krum had been stunned at the edge of the forest and Crouch was nowhere to be seen. [8]

1995-1996

Grawp sleeping in the Forest.

Rubeus Hagrid, along with Olympe Maxime, paid a visit to a tribe of giants in 1995, on the orders of HogwartsProfessor and HeadmasterAlbus Dumbledore, to try and bring the giants over as their allies in the Second Wizarding War against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Along the way, Hagrid found his half-brother, brought him back to Hogwarts, and kept him hidden deep within the Forest. Throughout the year, Hagrid regularly visited his half-brother, whom he dubbed "Grawp," emerging from the Forest with suspicious injuries he refused to explain to Harry, Ron or Hermione. During the final game of the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup, Hagrid brought Harry and Hermione into the forest and revealed Grawp to them, asking them to keep him company in the inevitable event that Dolores Umbridge should force Hagrid off school grounds.

The centaurs in the Forbidden Forest.

Hagrid's first Care of Magical Creatures lesson inspected by Professor Umbridge involved mysterious creatures called Thestrals. For this lesson, he lead his class into the forest in order to experience the Thestrals (which most of the students could not see, due to the fact the only way to see thestrals is by seeing someone die)in their natural habitat.

Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in the Forbidden Forest in 1995.

In 1996, Harry received a false vision that Sirius Black was being held and tortured by Lord Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries. When Harry desperately attempted to contact Sirius at 12 Grimmauld Place via the Floo Network in Umbridge's office fireplace, he was caught. As she was about to use the Cruciatus Curse to force Harry to reveal exactly what he'd been trying to do, Hermione claimed that Dumbledore had hidden a powerful weapon in the Forbidden Forest. She lead Harry and Umbridge into the forest where they encountered a heard of Centaurs. Umbridge foolishly insulted them, and an angry Centaur picked Umbridge up and carried her off screaming into the woods. Hermione and Harry were able to escape the Centaur's anger, which had turned to them for bringing Umbridge into the forest in the first place, amidst the chaos caused by Hagrid's giant half-brother, Grawp, crashing onto the scene. [9] This event is known as the Skirmish in the Forbidden Forest.

Professors Dumbledore and Snape arguing, late in February.

1996-1997

As Hagrid was coming out of the forest one day, he overheard Professors Snape and Dumbledore arguing over something that involved Snape not wanting to do something any more. However, Dumbledore argued that he had promised to do whatever it was, and that was that.

When Harry later learned he had to die for Voldemort to regain mortality, he headed in to the Forbidden Forest and, using the Resurrection Stone, called his parents, James and Lily, his godfather, Sirius Black, and his close friend, Remus Lupin, to give him the strength to face Voldemort for what he believed would be the last time.

Harry dropped the Resurrection Stone near the Acromantulas' hollow in the Forest, and he had no desire to ever go looking for it. The stone was pressed into the ground by the hoof of one of the centaurs who joined the battle against the Death Eaters, and thereafter became buried, likely never to be found again. [10]

Behind the scenes

In the first two Harry Potterfilms the forest is referred to as the Dark Forest.

On W.O.M.B.A.T. it is rumoured that the forest started out as a small wood tended by a centaur herd. Whether it's true or not is unknown, however, this could explain why the centaurs in Order of the Phoenix say that the forest belongs to them.